Upon Gentle Wings
by Furiouswind
Summary: Even after the war had ended, the fight continues. She was someone who could leave the guilt of her past. He was someone who could not atone the sins of his ghosts. The war has begun, it is time the players to gather once more for one last battle.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: I've started up a macross fic, since i'm insane and mad (it was in the middle of my exam period and i still had the balls to write shit!). And considering that i'm already writing so many fics at once, i really... REALLY shouldn't be doing this. But meh, who cares. Those who read my other stories know i hate flames. Positive remarks are useful. Also, i may not have all of the facts, so don't go screaming at me like 'that isn't right!' or 'it's suppose to be-'. I suck at grammar and open officer won't check for spelling mistakes (i'm too cheap to buy microsoft office).

NORMALLY, i suck at writing anime fics. Really, i suck at it. I'm better at writing gaming fics, but i was saved when the Macross Frontier Ace game for the psp came out, and i loved flying the VF-25s... SO AWESOME. Anyway, i started writing this fic during my exam period when i was sorting out my anime collection into proper folders (before the files were just all over the damn place. Half of the damn series was in a separate hard drive!!), and in my insanity, decided to watch Macross F from beginning to end again... TWICE. My exams are finally over, and i wanted to publish this for xmas, but polishing the plot line too longer than i expected. Oh yeah, my exams were a total mess.

Disclaimer: I do NOT own Macross Frontier, or the Macross series. Do not sue, don't even think of it. All OCs, however do belong to me.

* * *

**_Macross Frontier_**

**_Upon Gentle Wings_**

_Chapter 1_

_Welcome to the Club_

The pain, the darkness that threatened to cut her sight off. She tried to reach out for him, but her arm would not move. Why? Why did this have to happen? Just a little more. A little more and she would have reached him. He cannot be dead. She will not accept that fact. Didn't they promise each other that they would be together forever? Didn't he tell her that no matter what, he would always come back to her? What was that promise? Was it all a lie? No, she will not have it. He isn't dead. She pushed her machine forward a little more, forcing the gears and joints to crack and buckle. The arm would not respond as well as before. But she still persists, pushing forward, inch by inch. Just a little more. A little more. This is not the end for them here. This is not the place of their death. They will live on. They will laugh at this point in their lives. So... they will survive this.

"Cap...tain.... don't...leave me..."

* * *

The jerk of his ride shook him awake. Rubbing his eyes, he looked around him. The transport bus wasn't exactly filled to the brim with people, meaning that he was reaching his destination, the last stop on this route. He looked outside of the window, seeing the endless green fields stretch out for miles. Just a few years ago he wouldn't have believed he would be able to see this for himself. A real planet. And now it was theirs. Or at least they were sharing it.

A large shadow flew overhead, causing some people in the bus to peer outside. With its large tough red exoskeleton, the giant bug creature matched the speed of the bus for a while, before turning off and heading off in another direction. It was odd to think that just a few years ago, they had fought so desperately against those bugs known as Vajra. The war that they waged had cost them dearly, losing many loved ones.

There were still many who held resentment against the bugs, but the overall consensus was that they were at peace. The bus gave another bump, this one harder than before. Roads were not completely constructed yet on the planet, and so only rough dirt paths were cut through. Small cities were erected around the shoreline where the main colonial ship, island 1 landed. The large Battle Carrier, Battle Frontier, stood in full battroid mode in the water next to Island one, serving as the military's main base of operations.

The NUNS were still active, and were the main military force for Battle Frontier as well as being in charge of security and directing the construction of the settlements. However most people do not look up to them like before. During the war, the main military group that had proven themselves countless times in the field was none other than a private military company known as Civilian Military Provider Strategic Military Services, or S.M.S. for short.

It was through them that the true enemy was revealed, as well as many hidden conspiracies that would have caused the foundation of their colony to crumble. The bus came to a stop, and the rest of the passengers got off, as did he. Stepping out into the bright open field, he shaded his eyes to look up at the imposing structure before them. A large building was constructed out of one of the many damaged colonial Island ships to house two large groups.

One of them is a research company, L.A.I. corporation who is currently the main company in charge for technology research for both the settlements and for the military. The L.A.I. is run by a young man known as Luca Angelloni, who was also part of S.M.S., which explained the part why L.A.I. is mainly working with the other group that was housed in the same building, the S.M.S. The L.A.I. provides the newest technology for the S.M.S. making the S.M.S. the most technologically advance military group in the sector.

One of the reasons why a private military company was originally stronger than the main-stay military was because the government in charge of Macross Frontier had wanted to focus on using their funds to promote culture and improve the standard of living. It was cheaper to hire a private company to do most of the scouting and military combat, but this did not mean that the NUNS were fewer in number. The NUNS military personnel outnumbered S.M.S. twenty to one. But S.M.S. is home to some of the best pilots, engineers, scientists, and personnel on the planet.

A couple of the people who sat in the bus with him were already wearing the signature black jacket of S.M.S., walking into the large building without pausing. As for him and about five others, this would be their first time looking at the giant structure. And for some reason, there was a large group of people waving colourful banners outside the building. He recognized the names on the banners, and figured that those 'two' must be inside.

"Are you people the new recruits?"

A voice made them turn. A young woman dressed in a dark red uniform approached them with a data chart in one hand. Her shoulder length red hair having a few hair clips to prevent her bangs from covering her face. And her most intriguing point was the fact her eyebrows were quite small.

"Yes ma'am! I am Warrent Officer Kyle Grukil, reporting for duty!"

One of the men snapped to salute. The woman studied him for a few moments, before checking her datapad.

"... Warrent Officer Grukil, previously from NUNS fighter division third squadron. Alright, where is your form?"

She questioned. The man showed her his communication device, which held his transfer form. The woman transferred his form to her datapad, then nodded.

"Alright, it all checks out. Next."

The woman went down the line, checking each new candidate's credentials and application form. Besides the Warrent Officer, the others seemed to be civilians. Two of them were students from Mihoshi academy's pilot program. Another one was a plumber applying to be an engineer. Another was a medic who was sent by NUNS as part of an exchange training regime. Finally, the woman stood before him.

"Name?"

She asked, scrolling through her datapad for his information.

"....Ariule. Ariule Kryst."

"Ariule.... second lieutenant Kryst Ariule formerly of NUNS fighter division thirteenth squadron?"

"WHAT?!"

The Warrent Officer overheard the woman and ran over to him just to take a look.

"Thirteenth squadron? You bastard, daring to show your face in public like this-"

"Warrent Officer Grukil, get back in line."

The woman glared hard at the man, who gritted his teeth and walked back to his place in line. Kryst was used to things like that. His previous squad wasn't exactly all pretty and proper like the others. He straightened his jacket and dusting it off. He liked this jacket.

"So, second lieutenant, your forms?"

The woman asked, prompting him to pull out his communication device. The form was transferred and the woman checked it quickly before nodding.

"All clear. All right, follow me. You will all be debriefed in the meeting room. Follow me."

The group followed the woman around the main entrance to enter from another side. The inside of the structure was massive, having an intricate layout of hallways and rooms. The large portion of the structure was used as testing and training grounds by both S.M.S. and L.A.I. who use the wrecked cities of the old colonial islands for simulations. But the other parts were repaired and reconstructed to look brand new.

"Erm...excuse me."

One of the students tried to grab the attention of the woman they were following.

"It's Master Sergeant Hoa. And what question do you have?"

The woman asked back whilst still continuing to lead the way.

"Erm... those people outside. Are they-"

"Yes, they are fans of Sheryl Nome and Ranka Lee."

"Then does that mean-"

"Yes, they are here. And no you can't get their autographs."

The Master Sergeant answered back without pause, as if she had been asked these questions enough times for her to answer them before they are even formulated.

"Then... what about the rumours of-"

"The private lives of our two songstresses have nothing to do with your job. If you are still want to be persistent, ask them yourselves later. They are working together with S.M.S. and L.A.I. as part of the Vajra research project. And here we are."

The Master Sergeant led them into a debriefing room that had around twenty chairs facing a screen in the front.

"All of you will wait here for a superior to come in. Do not make any problems or there will be consequences later."

With that, the master sergeant left the room. The silence that was left was suffocating compared to the noise from the busy corridors. At this point, he noticed that warrent officer Grukil was giving him stares. Not this again.

"Hmph, so what is a member of the infamous thirteenth squadron doing here?"

The soldier added slight sarcasm with his question. But he didn't want to answer, simply sitting back in his chair and looking through the contracts on his communication device.

"... Hmph, too arrogant to talk?"

More like not wanting to talk.

"Erm... what is the thirteenth squadron?"

One of the students asked. Obviously he didn't want to talk, so the warrent officer decided to explain it, his version.

"They are a bunch of the worst hoodlums. They never listen to superiors, do their own things at their own pace, and worst of all, they would betray their own comrades and leaders just to save their own hides."

That sentence made him snap. He slammed his fist down on the table arm of his chair.

"Oh? Has the lieutenant lost it after hearing the truth?"

"Shut it asshole. You don't know half of the story and you go off yapping your trap like you're the newest gossip vendor."

"I don't need to know the whole thing to know what you guys are, a pile of disgusting, rotting waste of-"

"How dare you!"

He jumped out of his chair, lunging for the soldier, who had also decided to go for a fight, but the two were held back by the others in the room who knew what should happen if two ex-NUNS soldiers started to fight. The word chaos was not doing what could have happened any justice. The door slid open once more, and a small girl with her long blue hair tied into twin tails walked in to see the mess that had made the meeting room into a brawling ring.

"Sit down! All of you!"

She slammed her hand against the wall, causing a slight crack. That caught the attention of the room. Everyone decided to go back to their seats, though the two soldiers were still glaring at each other.

"I said sit down, unless the both of you want to duke it out now outside of this place and never come back in."

That made them settle down. One of the students was wondering about why there was kid in the room.

"I'm not a kid, for your information. I am your superior, Major Clan Clang. I'm here to debrief all of you on the different jobs of S.M.S., the goals and structure, and finally your jobs. Each of you will get a copy of the data of these informations and more on your devices."

* * *

A/N: As you may have already noticed, this story is looking through the eyes of new people who join SMS. The main cast will appear in every chapter, and will be greatly tied to the OCs, but they will not stick out too much. They're aren't the main focus here.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Kryst Ariule is the a combination of two OCs i created for other fics. I hate coming up with new names for guys. It is irritating and hard. As for the plot, i'm taking liberty as to what may happen after the way. The movie for Macross F is out, but i haven't watched it, so i don't know what i missed. My friend said that it is a continuation of the series, but he is usually full of shit, so i don't listen. Anyone who knows, can you please tell me what happens?  


* * *

_Chapter 2_

_New Base, New Players_

The year is 2062 AD. The Frontier colonial fleet had landed on the Vajra home planet and had started to build settlements on its surface. Within the short span of the years after the war, the humans and Zentradi had mapped out the entire planet, though the settlements only occupied a mere tenth of a single continent on the planet. The planet had yet to be named, though people were simply calling it Aimo, in honour of the song that led to victory, and the song of the Vajra.

The Vajra on this planet had managed to coexist with the colonists, thanks in part to the two song maidens of the Frontier fleet, who were capable of communicating with the insectoid aliens to a certain extent. It was also thanks to the Vajra that the Frontier fleet were able to advance their technologies at an extremely face pace, and also aided in the expansion of the colonial settlements. S.M.S. and L.A.I. had become large corporations that earned favour of the Frontier government, becoming more prominent than before.

Together with their past accomplishments and that the two songstresses of Frontier are tied closely to S.M.S., the project that was to research into the Fold Quartz and the Vajra was headed by the two companies. The research into the fold quartz has made multiple discoveries, including communication across great distances without lags, and use Space Fold drive without concern for Fold faults. Frontier, being the centre for culture preservation, had only barely managed to survive the previous war. Whilst the rest of Frontier were feeling at ease with the peace, S.M.S. and several other groups were getting ready for the next engagement. It wasn't a sense of being vigilant that made them build up their arms, but rather the knowledge that the fight wasn't over. Their next test was only just around the corner.

* * *

The man known as Kryst Ariule stepped out of the briefing room, looking through his copy of a map of the base. He had been assigned to 'Sword' Squadron located in block five. He did not know much about the squadron he was assigned to, since they were encouraged to 'find out for themselves'. But still, he did not know if he could 'find out' on his own. Just by looking at the map, he felt briefing room door opened once more, and Kyle stepped out. The warrent officer glared at him, before snorting and walking off in another direction. Kryst sure hoped he wouldn't be in the same squad as that guy. Next was the medic to come out of the room. The medic was a slim and rather pale looking young man. His messed up and unkept wavy hair covered his eyes, making Kryst wonder if he was really a medic. The medic saw him and walked over.

"Yo, got a light?"

The medic wondered, pulling out a cigarette. Kryst shook his head. He wasn't a smoker, at least now he isn't. He quit some time ago due to various problems.

"Hmm, nevermind. Need to cut down anyway. So, you were with 'that' squadron of reapers? Don't mind that guy. Show-offs like him never last long in the fields, trust me, i've seen all there is."

The medic pocketed his death stick and pulled out his device, scrolling through some information that was given to him.

"Ah, first day of the transfer and i'm off to work without a proper tour of the place. The NUNS were never this tensed, you know? Anyway, see you around. I'll probably see you after a few training sessions, if what i heard about the training regimes here is true. Just make sure to see me without breaking too many bones, it gets troublesome to patch you guys up everytime."

The medic waved goodbye as he dragged his feet off. The engineer stepped out of the room, spotting Kryst, and walked up to the pilot. The engineer was a young woman, which was quite surprising the first time Kryst saw her and hearing her declare her occupation. She had shoulder length chestnut hair covered by a cap, and had a pair of goggles dangling around her neck. She also had a tool belt that was obviously too big for her as it was barely staying on her hip.

"I don't know what you military guys are like, but hope we can work together. I'm Tasha Veroga."

The engineer stuck out her arm to him. She looked quite friendly, and quite an active girl.

"Kryst Ariule."

He shook her hand, and no doubt he could feel the strength of a mechanic.

"I'm dying to see the workings of those VF-25s after watching the videos of the previous war. They must be a sight to behold up close! Oh, i bet they must use a special engine for them, and-"

The girl went ranting on about the fighters, proving that she is an obvious nut for the variable fighters.

"-So it must that, right? Ah! So sorry! I got too excited!"

"It's okay. If you're that serious in your work, then we pilots should feel relaxed about our flights."

Tasha suddenly became quiet, staring at Kryst with a rather surprised look on her face. Was it something he said?

"Erm... did i say something wrong?"

"Eh? Oh! I must have did it again! Sorry about that. It's just that you're different from what i've heard about military pilots, being all arrogant and stuff."

And just where did she hear that from? But to Kryst, it wasn't too far off the truth for some people he knew back at NUNS.

"Treat your mechanics well as they treat your machine well. A trust must be made between the pilot and the mechanic as each relies on the other in combat. At least that is what i was taught."

"Hmm, you have an interesting teacher. Well, i have to go now. Got to report to the engineering chief... a.... Mina... Roshan? Heard she's a smart but tends to work at her own pace. Looks like i'll have to start searching for her. See you around, Kryst."

The cheerful engineer left, skipping along the corridor, which made Kryst wonder exactly what was it about SMS? Was it too strict to start training immediately and to kick people out if they start fighting? Or was it too relaxed to let someone like this girl into their ranks?

"Ara? Erm... are you new around here?"

Kryst turned to the voice spoken behind him, only to come face to face with a tall pink haired micronized Meltrandi. Sure, he had seen micronized Zentradi and Meltrandi, but this girl was tall. Standing half a head taller than him, he was feeling rather intimidated by this Meltrandi, who on the other hand, was not exactly the most intimidating person on the base. He noticed her rank on her SMS uniform to be a first lieutenant, higher than him. He guess he should salute.

"Hm? Oh, you don't need to be so formal. Is onee-sama done yet?"

The meltrandi smiled sweetly, before turning to the meeting room.

"O...nee?"

"Ah, you call her Major Clang. So, you're new to SMS, right?"

Kryst nodded his head in reply, still feeling slightly intimidated by this Meltrandi's height.

"Which division?"

"Fighter pilot, a... sword squadron."

At that, the Meltrandi seemed a little surprised, staring at him as though to confirm it with her own eyes.

"Erm... is there anything?"

"Huh? Oh! sorry about that... Sword squadron. It'll be tough. Most likely you'll get transferred to some other squad later."

Kryst now had to wonder what sort of squad he was assigned to. Was it because of his record? Was it because he came from 'that' squad?

"Ah! Just to tell you, they normally send people into Sword squadron regardless of their records or ranks! It's not as if you were chosen specifically for it. It's just... maybe they hope that 'she' would finally forgive herself."

"'She'?"

Kryst now found himself rather curious about it.

"Nene, did you wait long?"

Major Clang stepped out of the debriefing room with the two mihoshi academy students, walking over to the tall Meltrandi.

"Ah, not at all onee-sama."

Clan smiled to the other Meltrandi, before turning to Kryst.

"Second lieutenant Ariule? Did you have a question?"

"Ah, yes ma'am. I'm actually feeling slightly lost."

"Lost? Ah, i see. The facility is kind of large. Well, come with me then. I'm leading these two new pilots to the basic training facility. I'll help you after that, and i can give you a tour with these two along the way."

Clan Clang turned and led the way. The facility being large was a sore understatement. The number of personnels that were about, both SMS and LAI were staggering. Everywhere they went the corridors were crowded. According to Clan, SMS had gained access to three additional Guantanamo class carriers and five Bolognese class stealth frigates, meaning the coporation was frantic in trying to fill those ships with men.

During the final stages of the war, SMS had about twelve squadrons of fighters that were fully operational, two frigates, one carrier, and the famous Macross Quarter. SMS had grown exponentially after the war, though Clan mentioned something about the increase of troops due to a certain 'trio'. Clan showed the new members around, to the basic armoury, the research centres, the VF repair bays, some meeting rooms, and then she led to see the training grounds.

Peering through a window on the fourth floor, they were able to see the old ruins of the city the colonial island housed. Some of the buildings were reduced to rubble, while others were riddled with holes of all sizes. Just then, a large explosion rocked the facility, and from within the training grounds, a lone black VF-171 Nightmare Plus darted around in Gerwalk mode, dodging laser fire from training ghost droids that flew around in a random mess, corning the VF countless number of times, though the VF had managed to evade every single fire, quickly transforming into Battroid and Fighter mode to suit the need for the evasion. Kryst could tell that its pilot was extremely skilled.

"Soon, all of you will be able to pull off those kind of moves. Watch carefully because you wouldn't get to see one of our best pull of these tricks often."

Clan told the three who were still entranced by the training scene before them. But Kryst had to wonder. That Valkyrie wasn't equipped with any weapons of any sort. Kryst then heard Clan talking with Nene, and he could not help but overhear bits of the conversation.

"... And?"

"There hasn't been any new movements yet. Colonel Lee wants to send a couple of squads out to check out the last known position of the scouts."

"Did Alto volunteer?"

"Yes... Captain Saotome is going to leave soon, however Colonel Lee wants to send two more to make sure nothing happens."

"And he wants me to choose? Damn that Ozma, always making others do most of the work. And Alto as well, leaving those two girls alone again... Hmm... That VF out in the training. That emblem is-"

"Yes... it's 'her'."

"She's still like that, huh... I'll go talk to her later."

Another explosion turned Kryst's attention back to training grounds. By now, the VF had grabbed one of the ghost droids, forcing its gun to fire at its comrades. Kicking at another ghost and grabbing it and throwing it against another. Within a matter of minutes, the VF turned the tables on its opponents, turning all of the ghost droids into smoking piles of circuits. The VF-171 Nightmare Plus turned back into Fighter mode and flew off.

"Okay, that's it for now. Come on, let's go."

Clan guided the new members towards one of the five cafeterias in the facility. And it just so happened that there was a quarrel of some sort happening within the cafeteria. A large man was arguing with another man over something. The larger man wore the uniforms of the ground force member, while the other man wore the uniforms of the armoury.

"Argh... not this again. Excuse me."

Clan Clang pushed her way forward through the crowd that had gathered around the fight.

"Move it!"

"Ah! Major!"

Clan had pushed her way to the centre of the fight, attempting to force the two to break off the fight, but was knocked back by the elbow of one of the fighters. Luckily Nene was there to help Clan from falling to the floor.

"Tch, you guys better stop now-"

"Move it."

Clan turned to see a young woman walking up to the crowd. The woman had long silver hair and stood only a head taller than Clan. She pushed aside the crowd, and the moment people saw her, they parted away like she was an extremely dangerous being. Soon, she reached the centre of the fight, and the crowd had spread out further from the fight, as though expecting some large explosion to occur in the centre.

"Both of you, stop it now."

She calmly said, though Kryst noticed her voice was rather cold and stern. The armoury personnel saw her, and immediately back away.

"Ah! Ryugi-san!"

The armoury officer backed away, apparently afraid of the small sized woman. Kryst heard some of the surrounding spectators muttering things about the newcomer as well.

"That's the silver wolf?"

"The black ace."

"The Iron Arm."

"One eyed Valkyrie."

That was quite a list of nicknames for one person. Kryst looked back at the fight, where the ground soldier did not take lightly to the interruption, and apparently he did not know who the newcomer is.

"Eh? Get lost girl! This is a man's fight!"

".... Shut up."

"Huh? What did you just say!?"

"I said shut up. Your ears too plugged up with pig wash to listen?"

The soldier snapped, grabbing the newcomer by her collar. Kryst then noticed something. The jacket of the newcomer had her sleeve unrolled on her left side, as well as that the newcomer wore black gloves.

"Eh!? You wanna die!? Just because you're a girl doesn't mean i will be lenient on you!"

"... Hmph, so what?"

Soldier got even more pissed, easily lifting the small sized newcomer up into air. He cocked his arm back and sent a straight punch at the newcomer. But the punch never connected. The newcomer lifted up her left hand, catching his punch. The soldier was in shock, but soon his face contorted in pain, letting go of the newcomer. The young woman landed on her feet, letting go of his hand that she caught. The soldier staggered back, clutching onto his hand that the newcomer caught. Kryst saw that the fingers of that hand were twisted and bent in very wrong directions.

"Boys will never learn."

The newcomer flicked her hair off her shoulder, turning towards the food vendors in the canteen and starting to walk towards one.

"Wait! Second lieutenant Ryugi!"

Clan's voice stopped the newcomer in her tracks, and she turned towards Clan. Kryst now saw her face for the first time. She looked like a young girl around seventeen years of age. Her clear blue eye seemed to hold no emotions but for a moment Kryst sensed a deep sorrow within that deep blue colour. And her left eye was covered by a black eye patch.

"Major... what is it?"

".... What you did was out of line. Sergeant! Get that man to the medical sector!"

Clan ordered the nearest soldier in the canteen, who snapped a salute and helped the injured soldier off with some others.

"What i did was simply self-defence. Nothing more. If you want, i can write another report. Now excuse me, i'm going to get some lunch."

Clan wanted to stop the second lieutenant, but the girl had already walked off.

"... Tch, that girl was always like that. Anyway, let's go."

* * *

A/N: More likely, the cause of the multiple nicknames is my inability to decide on one cool one. My indecisive nature is a bad habit and intend to fix it.... soon.... or maybe not.


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Some may wonder, why use Second Lieutenant? Hmm... i used Michel's rank as a baseline for good pilots, that's why. Oh yeah.... i didn't really want to use the name 'Clan Clang'.... i thought 'Klan Klan' was better, but since the producers of the show decided to romanize it like 'Clan Clang', we'll have to follow that way.  


* * *

_Chapter 3_

_The Black Sword_

Second Lieutenant Kryst Ariule found himself walking by himself once more not long after the fiasco in the cafeteria. After turning some corners, Major Clan Clang had told him to follow one corridor to the end to his barracks, and that she would come to see him later after she had settled a few things for the students. As for what those 'things' were exactly, she didn't specify. Kryst walked down the corridor, constantly checking the different doors for his barracks.

Even though the facility was split into different blocks, the size of one block is still quite large, about the size of four apartment complexes in the main-island. Each block is dedicated to at least two squadrons, has its own physical training rooms, cafeterias, barracks and meeting rooms. There are five main blocks in the facility, mainly used for large deployments, main gathering halls, main centres for the different divisions and for receptions.

Block five was located at a rather extreme end of the facility, like it was built out of spare space and tucked away in the corner. Even though it was still considered clean and well serviced, compared to the other blocks it was a horror house. He stopped outside a door, looking up at the sign.

"... Sword barracks..."

He had a gut wrenching feeling brewing in the pits of her stomach. He scanned his ID across the scanner at the door. The system identified his ID and opened the door. He stepped inside the barracks, and the first thing he noticed was how clean the barracks was. The barracks had five beds that were separated by walls that divided the room equally to allow each bed to have a small private space like an office cubicle, though that private space does not include a door.

The beds were simple, and a small bedside cabinet was the only other item for each small 'cubicle'. The barracks seemed well kept, each bed neatly made. In fact, it looked like it had never been used before. But there was one exception. Lying on one of the beds was a person who did not bother to take off their boots before lying on the bed. Kryst walked over to the cubicle, and saw that the person was rather small, a female (judging by the body shape), and had a magazine covering the face. But somehow the way only the right sleeved is rolled up looks familiar.

"... Erm... Second lieutenant Kryst Ariule, reporting to Swords squadron."

The figure did not respond at first, making him think that the person was sleeping, till the person took the magazine off their face. Kryst was surprised to see that the person lying there was none other than the girl from the cafeteria. Her silver hair slightly messed up as she got up from her lying position. She narrowed her eye at him, before swinging her legs off the bed. She grabbed a half eaten burger from her bedside table, taking a bite from it. She took another look at him while still chewing on her food.

".... You're a new member?"

She asked, crumpling the now empty wrapper into a ball and tossing it into the bin near her bed.

"Yes, i've been assigned here. My name is-"

"I got it the first time. You'll have to forgive me if i don't bother remember your name since you'll most likely be transferred somewhere else by tomorrow."

The girl pushed him aside as she walked out of her cubicle and walked over to the barrack's common pantry. Opening the fridge, she pulled out a bottle of water and opened it, chugging down the water.

"... Erm... where is the squad leader? I have to submit my transfer form-"

"There is no squad leader."

The girl said, crushing the empty plastic with her hand and tossing it into the bin. Kryst could tell that she was upset about something. And her anger peaked slightly when she said the word 'squad leader'.

"No squad leader... how can that be-"

"It is just the way it is."

"What about yourself?"

"I'm only a second lieutenant, same rank as yourself."

Kryst could tell that she was getting irritated. But he still needed to get formalities done, though he never really liked them himself.

"Then who should i give these to? I was instructed by Major-"

"You can keep them to yourself, or toss them. They're useless since you're going to get new ones when you transfer to another squadron."

"But-"

"Fine! If you insist so much i'll take it! Give it here!"

The girl fumed, grabbing his device from his hand and pulling out his transfer papers. She transferred the file to her device, albeit in a rather violent fashion, and tossed his device back to him before throwing herself back on the bed. Kryst did not know what to make of this girl, who looked so young and rather pretty yet seems to harbour a dark side to her. The silence between the two, the girl who still lay on the bed with an arm covering her eyes, and him, who still stood outside her cubicle and his duffel bag still in hand. He felt like an idiot.

"... Is there a free bed?"

He wondered, looking around the room.

"Take any you want."

The girl waved him off.

"Any? Aren't there any other members?"

"None. I'm the only member of Sword squadron."

The moment Kryst heard that, he dropped his bag. The only member? In a squadron? Kryst knew that SMS had many squadrons, and that many of them were created only recently. But SMS never let a single person become a whole squadron. And he read about the SMS squadrons that still remained after the war. Skull squadron was the elite of SMS, being led by the war hero Captain Saotome Alto. There were other squads that still remained and those numbered around five, Sword squadron was one of them. This squadron lasted as long as Skull squadron has, and had quite an impressive record. But what happened?

"Erm... are you new as well?"

"....."

The girl remained silent, which answered his question. She wasn't new. And judging by her cubicle space, and her uniform, she must be a veteran. He sighed, scratching his head as he thought about this situation. It certainly wasn't something he had expected out of the famous SMS. He walked into a cubicle at the opposite end of the girl which ended up one that was facing the door, feeling that he got any closer, something extremely terrible would occur.

Throwing his things onto the bed, sat down on the rather stiff matress. The barracks in a ground facility of this size was certainly different from staying in the barracks of a cramp space ship. Bunk beds were not comfortable, but it suited to the needs of basic military standards. He was sure that the sleeping quarters onboard the Quarter was the same as any military ship. The barracks door slid open, and he immediately stood up as Major Clan Clang stepped in with First lieutenant Nene Rora.

"At ease, second lieutenant Ariule."

Major Clan Clang said before he could salute, making him ease back a little. Clan eyed the other sword squadron member, who had still chosen to lie on her bed. Clan walked over to the foot of the bed of the girl, and gave a slight cough. The girl uncovered her eyes, and sighed, sitting up on her bed.

"Clan, what do you want?"

She demanded, voice filled with irritation.

"You still haven't changed at all. Isn't it about time you moved on from that incident-"

"Don't you **DARE** talk about that."

The girl shot back. Kryst did not know what relationship the Major had with this girl, but for them to be so informal with each other meant they knew each other from way back. Clan sighed, walking over to a screen on the wall of the girl's cubicle, switching it on and displaying a whole bunch of words and maps.

"We have a mission for Sword squadron, your first one in so long, and since you don't bother to answer when anyone calls you, i've decided to come here to explain it to you personally, so listen up."

"Wait."

The girl scratched her head for the moment, then turning her eye to Kryst.

"What about him? He just transferred here, and he'll most likely be in another unit by tomorrow. Don't tell me you're going to send him too-"

"Of course. He is part of Sword squadron. Plus, i don't think he will be transferring anywhere for awhile. So suck it up."

The girl clicked her tongue in irritation, glaring at him as though his very existence was wrong. Clan cleared her throat before going back to the screen.

"We have lost contact with two scouting squadrons in sector six. We do not know what happened to them, and Ozma is not wanting to take any chances with this. He is sending in three squads to check it out, as well as salvaging anything from that sector."

"Hmph, salvaging. What does that old man want, a new statue for his beloved sister?"

"Ozma isn't like that, and he isn't old. The salvaging job was commissioned by the president. A presidential order."

"... Cathy? She's still acting as the president?"

The girl raised an eyebrow. Kryst knew that they were referring to Catherine Glass, the former President, Howard Glass's daughter, and that she had leadership qualities, however due to her extensive involvement with private companies like SMS, especially with SMS's colonel Ozma Lee, she announced that she would only take up the role till a more suitable candidate was found. Up to now there hasn't been any due to the constant need for the settlers to expand and improve their cities. No one had the time to a proper candidate, though since it has been a few years after the war, Kryst figured the colonists should be settled in enough to hold the elections soon.

"So? Who else is going?"

The girl asked, stifling a yawn.

"Leo squadron and Skull squadron."

Clan replied, though the girl started laughing after she heard that.

"Skull squadron? You mean that lover-crybaby Alto is going as well?"

"He has the skills, and when are you going to stop calling him that?"

"I won't stop till he fixes that habit. Or is 'princess' a better title for him? And sure, he has skills, i'll give him that, but a real dense idiot as well."

Clan sighed, shaking her head at the young girl's choice of words.

"Anyway, your squadron is to report tomorrow morning at main block C. Here."

Clan handed a piece of paper to the girl, who grabbed it and started to look through the words. However it wasn't long before the girl crumpled the paper and threw it away in anger.

"Don't fuck with me!"

The girl screamed at Clan, who did not seem so surprised, retaining her calm poise in the face of a screaming girl.

"Congratulations on your promotion, Captain Ryugi."

"I don't need that fucking rank! How many times must i tell you assholes?!"

".... This would be the fifth time you've refused promotion. Ozma and the captain are feeling rather worried about you."

"I don't need their sympathy! And i definitely don't need that rank to do my job!"

Clan had endured a lot of shouting from the girl, and it was showing that even the Major was reaching a breaking point.

"Fine, then we'll assign second lieutenant Ariule as captain and squad leader."

Kryst heard his name, and he knew that it shouldn't be for real, but for a Major, these sort of jokes are hardly jokes.

"Let a new kid be squad leader?! Are you out of your mind!?"

"Since you're not willing to do it, let the new comer do it. There has to be a leader either way."

The girl gritted her teeth, angry at Clan, who somehow knew just what buttons to push.

".... Fine! I'll take the squad leader seat. But i'm **NOT** taking the rank."

"As you wish."

Major Clan smiled in a rather devious fashion, before turning to Kryst, who had been standing there the entire time, rather confused at the current situation, though he now understood that the girl was made squad leader. Luckily she took his transfer papers already so that would make it one less hassle.

"Second Lieutenant Airule, i hope this doesn't turn out bad for you, but you're in good hands. Ask your squad leader for any questions you may have. I think you'll fit in just fine. Good luck, and welcome to SMS."

* * *

Kryst Ariule stared at his wearied reflection, letting the water run from the tap without caring for any water preservation plans set out by the government. Toothbrush dangling from his slack mouth, he thought back to the day before. It was a crazy thing that happened, all happening the day he transferred in as well. If anything, it was a crazy experience he would not like to revisit any time soon. After Major Clan Clang left, the new squad leader for Sword squadron decided to take her frustration out on the nearest wall. Her left punch had made a pretty nice hole in the wall.

Kryst had fully expected the new squad leader to blow up in his face, punch him into ground meat, and burn his remains. But instead, nothing. After making a nice hole in the wall, the girl went out without muttering a word. She did not get back to barracks till it was late at night, all sweaty and bruised. She went straight to sleep without even taking off her clothes or boots, and that was it. But it was because nothing happened, that Kryst was feeling so insecure.

He could not sleep a wink the entire night, afraid of what would the new squad leader do if she was only pretending to sleep while he really went to sleep. The fear gripped him so tightly that he could not sleep. Was this why everyone transfers out? Maybe he should do the same. But then he came to SMS for a reason. And there was something about the deep hidden sadness within that girl that he could not forget. He had been known in his previous unit as a guy who reads into people and situations a little too often. Nicknamed the 'eye' for that purpose, and for his ability to prevent anything from escaping his sights. But perhaps this wasn't exactly the best ideal situation for him to read anything.

Now he had to prepare for a space mission, and he haven't even gotten an introduction to the Valkyrie he would be piloting! He heard that the new VF-25s were more sensitive, powerful, and faster than the VF-171 Nightmare EX. And since they had gone into partial full production, mainly for the large number of members the SMS had been gaining, learning how to handle the VF-25s was going to be critical. He looked at the clock in the washroom, and noticed that it was nearly time. He washed himself up, and headed back to the barracks. The door to the barracks slid open, and he saw the girl had already gotten herself ready. She shot a glare at Kryst, before turning to grab her duffel bag and stormed out of the door. But she stopped at the doorway, turned around and stared straight at him.

"Hurry up, you pile of waste. I won't allow myself to get reprimanded just because you were slow."

Kryst then felt that same sinking feeling from before. His thoughts? He was officially considered an idiot by his own squad leader. He hadn't really gotten the time to unpack, which resulted in him to just grab his duffel bag and follow his squad leader out of the barracks. Once again, the girl said nothing as they walked along the corridors through the different blocks till they reached their destination.

Block C was not as crowded as other main blocks, serving mainly as a transportation hub for people who were going back into space. The citizens of Frontier were still focused on expanding on the ground, so not many people were eager to go back into space. Standing by one of the gates was a rather familiar face to most people. With his long blue hair tied in a tail, his fair complexion made some think he was a girl. But after the war, his name, and his face, had become famous to all in Frontier as the hero who fought against Galaxy. His name is-

"Oi, Alto. Are you sure it's alright for you to leave your 'princesses' behind?"

His squad leader called out to the famous hero, throwing her bag onto a pile of other bags. Saotome Alto, currently next successor for the famous Kabuki house Saotome. He gave up acting and took up a pilot course where it was found his natural talent for flying helped him land his position in the elite Skull Squadron. After the war, he had not given up flying as a pilot for SMS, but he had taken more time to help around with his family's business of Kabuki since his father's health was deteriorating. He is also the prime centre of gossip as many knew his connection to both the Galatic Fairy, Sheryl Nome, and the Super-dimension Cinderella, Ranka Lee. Those two famous songstresses that led to Frontier's victory over Galaxy were probably what his squad leader meant by 'princesses'.

"Hmm? Shiki, don't you have anything better to do than to ask stupid questions?"

Alto shot back at his squad leader with a slight hint of sarcasm.

"Hmph, if i had something better to do, why would i be here?"

"I'm guessing you were ordered to join me."

That made her slightly irritated, and Kryst swore he heard a nerve snap. That usually meant danger for most, though Alto was finding this rather amusing.

"Why don't you just give up already? You know you can't win against the Colonel or against Clan. Not with your rank, that is."

"Leave me alone."

She pushed him aside, walking over to the gate where the transport was waiting and entering the transport without another word. Kryst wasn't sure what just happened, or what he was suppose to do, however Alto had noticed him just standing there rather confused.

"You must be Shiki's newest squad member. Kind of hard being around her, right?"

Kryst was rather surprised to be addressed by such a famous person in a casual manner. Alto noticed that rather quickly too.

"You don't need to worry about rank around me. I don't really like strict things anyway. I'm Saotome Alto, leader of Skull Squadron."

Alto struck out his hand to shake. Kryst took the hand, feeling rather honoured to be in the presence of this young man.

"Kryst Ariule, second lieutenant. Erm... are you familiar with the squad leader?"

"Shiki? Well, she was in SMS before i entered, and our families were pretty close. She always worked alone, as far as i know, so Sword squadron was always just her, though from time to time there were attempts to fill up the squad.... well, you can see why nobody stuck around long enough."

Kryst could really see why. She had such a foul temper and had little patience with others. It was a wonder why she hadn't been sent for disciplinary action. Usually if one were to act like she did in NUNS, they would get reprimanded immediately.

"In SMS, we don't usually follow the strict guidelines of military conduct, though there are the basics. As for Shiki, she is one of our aces. Her personality may be like that, but her skills are undoubtly one of the best."

Alto explained, looking over the workmen loading the transport with the bags the crew left in a pile, and with other cargo.

"You said that your families were close?"

"She never told you anything? .... Just like her, i suppose. I'm not really sure if she wants anyone to know, but i guess you should have at least heard of the Ryugi house, right?"

Kryst shook his head. He wasn't really into the old houses that Frontier has to preserve culture.

"Hmm, okay. Well, there are many old clans and houses that hold onto ancient tradition. My house, the Saotome house, continues the line of Kabuki, ancient Japanese acting. Ryugi house also retains an ancient Japanese art. However, theirs is of a warrior art."

"Warrior?"

"Yes, ancient archery, swordsmenship, martial arts, anything that has to do with fighting, the Ryugi house practices it. Shiki is next successor by default, though she hates it."

That would explain her rough personality, and her strong skills. But something Kryst heard made him think.

"By default?"

Alto was caught by surprise, meaning he probably should not have said that. However he quickly sighed, scratching his head.

"It is better if you heard it from her yourself, though i don't think she would be willing to say anything.... Ryugi Shiki is the third child out of four, and she came from the mistress of the house, not the wife. Her elder sister, the one originally meant to succeed the house, fell terminally ill from V-type infection."

V-type infection, viruses from Vajra can disrupt the brain and eventually lead to death. It was not common, but it wasn't rare either.

"The second child, her older brother, was killed in an accident during a NUNS operation. That happened before i joined SMS. Shiki's family tradition has had members of the family join the military service, which meant while her older brother joined NUNS, she and her younger brother joined SMS. Her younger brother went missing, about two years before our war with the Vajra. The matriach of the Ryugi family went into shock and slipped into a state of hysteria, confusing Shiki for her older brother, who was her favourite child."

Kryst never knew that his squad leader had such a past. And maybe now he was able to see why she had behaved like she does.

"Gossiping about other people is a bad habit, Alto. You should stop it before she hears you and decides that your life is worth less than a pile of Vajra droppings."

Major Clan Clang walked up to the two. By her appearance and what she was carrying, Kryst guessed she was coming along for the trip as well.

"She wouldn't harm me."

Alto replied, smirking slightly.

"Maybe, but her new team member wouldn't so lucky."

Kryst did not know what to make out of that sentence.

"So, you're the third squad then? I thought it was meant to be Leo squadron. It's been awhile since the Pixie squadron was mobilized."

"Too long. And Leo squadron got assigned to back-up another squad for scouting of sector two. What about the rest of your squad, Alto?"

"They're in the transport. I'll oversee the loading of the cargo, you can go on ahead. Oh yeah, new guy, if you value your life, don't mention anything i told you to Shiki."

* * *

A/N: Shiki's character is modeled after my top three anime girls, though it is hard to fit in my most favourite anime girl of all time if i throw in number two. Ryugi Shiki's name is a play on Ryougi Shiki from Kara no Kyoukai, and their personalities are similar. However, Shiki's character model is following Cinque from Nanoha Strikers. I seem to like Cinque's model alot. Ryugi Shiki draws a lot from Ryougi Shiki and Cinque, and if you know the two characters, you'll see the similarities. As for the last reference.... well, that anime is old so i don't think anyone will get it.


	4. Chapter 4

_Chapter 4_

_Tear under the Eye_

The trip up to space was not very eventful, though Kryst did notice that the other members of this mission were choosing to sit rather far from his squad leader. When he first got on the transport, he wondered about where he should sit. Since he was part of Sword squadron, he had to sit next to his squad leader. While she was clearly in a foul mood, she did not comment about him taking up the seat next to hers. So he strapped into the seat and had to be patient throughout the entire trip up into space.

The linear catapult line that launched the transport up into space was only recently built, not to mention out of pieces of unused scrap metal. 'Safe' was not a word that can be used with confidence for this catapult line. Kryst felt his body pushed deeper into his seat as the transport blasted it way up through the atmosphere. The shock dampeners in the transports, as well as the seat restraints, were meant to provide extra safety and comfort, though Kryst had to wonder just how old these things were, or if they were even built for exiting and re-entering the atmosphere so many times. He swore he could hear the nuts and bolts rattling loose.

Soon, the lights within the transport when from red to its normal colour. It signalled that they were finally out of the planet's atmosphere. Which meant it would only be a matter of time before they docked with one of the carriers in space. Kryst had read the mission details, stating that the three squads were to dock with a small stealth carrier called 'Denanum'. The carrier was an old escort carrier for the Frontier fleet, and was damaged during the war. It was reported to have been repaired and ready to be recommissioned onto the field. While it hasn't been that long since the war, Kryst still had doubts about using that ship.

That wasn't Kryst's only concern though. Another concern would be what exactly this mission is. A mere scouting and scavaging mission? Not likely since Skull squadron and Pixie squadron were chosen to go. Two elite squadrons from the war sent on a scouting mission? Either someone had way too much time on their hands, or that there was another objective involved. Then again, Sword squadron was no pushover either. Considering three squadrons of 'elites', the chances of the mission becoming really dangerous really fast was high.

_'"We're about to dock with the Denanum. All crew prepare to disembark."'_

Came the pilot's voice over the system. Kryst found the seat restraints unlocked by now and he lifted them off, though the feel of being weightless in space took a strange toll on his body for the moment. The other crew members all got out of their seats and began to prepare their things. The ship shuddered as it connected with the carrier, causing some items to float freely about the cabin. Kryst noticed his squad leader still in her seat, her eye closed as though in thought. The crew began to fill out of the transport after the gate opened, though his squad leader still did not move an inch. He felt slightly troubled by this, seeing as how he was meant to stick with his squad. Was she trying to piss him off? Or was she sleeping?

"Oi, Shiki, stop playing around and get moving."

Alto's voice came from behind, making Kryst turned to see the hero of the war grab his things while making sure his entire squad got off.

"Shut up Alto."

Shiki grumbled, slowly getting up from her seat.

"Still not used to the switch between space and gravity, huh."

"Leave me alone."

Shiki grabbed her bag and propelled herself forward towards the exit. Kryst felt slightly surprised, that his squad leader was someone who took a longer time to adjust to such changes. It was true that she looked slightly sick. Though it seemed slightly more than mere space sickness. It did not take Kryst long to figure out that his squad leader was indeed rather ill. Shiki had to keep using the walls to support herself as she slowly made her way out of the transport and into the carrier. Kryst hurried into the carrier and caught up with his squad leader rather quickly, find her leaning against the wall, sweating and panting heavily.

"Taichou?"

He floated over to his squad leader, who did not seem to respond. He reached out towards her to check if she was alright, but she instinctively slapped his hand away.

"I.. don't need... your help..."

She tried to push herself forward, though her energy gave out, making her unconscious. This was troubling. Kryst immediately grabbed onto her clothes and pulled her close to him so as to prevent her from floating freely elsewhere. He felt her temperature, and found that she was suffering from a slight fever. He wasn't a medic or a doctor, but he knew enough to help him through most troubles. Though he should really get her to a doctor soon, Kryst could not help but be surprised at how slim and frail she appeared. Without her usual rough and cold character, she was really so weak.

"Second lieutenant Ariule. I suggest you get moving before she wakes up and punches you in the face."

Kryst turned around, seeing Major Clang behind him.

"Ah, this is-"

"I understand without you telling me anything. Shiki would never let anyone touch her like how you're doing."

The Major floated up to him, checking on Shiki. The pain expression on his squad leader made him slightly worried. Was it something serious?

"... Hmm, exhaustion and fever. She must be pushing herself again. Did something happen last night?"

"Erm.... after the Major left, Taichou left the room and did not come back till in the middle of the night. Looked like she went to the gym or something."

".... Not that again. Such a trouble maker. Alright, just bring her to your barracks."

"Yes sir-.... wait, my barracks?"

Major Clang smirked a rather mischievous grin to his surprised question.

"Of course your barracks. This is a ship, not the home base. The two of you are from the same squadron so you'll be sharing the same room. Isn't that obvious?"

Somehow Kryst felt as though he was being set up. He had no choice, however, and followed the Major, who led the way down the ship's corridor all the way towards the Sword barracks. The room was a simple one, a single bunk bed for two, wall cabinets and a screen for connection to the bridge or for television. He had seen rooms like these before, they were standard and he knew that that television was more or less the only entertainment available.

"Put her on the bed and i'll call the doctor. The systems on the ship haven't been activated fully yet, so communications through the system won't be available. I'll contact you on your device."

Clan said, leaving the room. Kryst settled his squad leader down on the lower bunk, feeling slightly grateful that the artificial gravity system in the rooms were still operating at optimal level. That meant that they would stick to the ground, but jumping is not recommended. He grabbed his bag, checking inside. He pulled out a cloth and a bottle of water, drenching the cloth with the water though it was hard to work with the artificial gravity only working at half its capacity. As expected, he was still somewhat used to the gravity on the planet's surface. He closed his eyes for the moment, taking in a deep breath, then exhaling.

Slowly adjusting his body through forced thought alone was rather difficult, but he had done it before. By relaxing the body, he allowed his body to be more susceptible to changes. Then forcing his body to quicken its ability to adapt through self-thought, or more along the lines of self-suggestion. The theory of self-suggestion was common amongst the soldiers of his old squadron. It was used to teach them how to distance themselves from the horrors of fighting. It lowered the probability of post-traumatic stress, though it sometimes resulted in the creation of a feeling of permanent surrealism, which could result in insanity.

However it was useful if used correctly for such cases as Kryst was trying to do. The mind contains the ability to greatly affect the biological changes within the body, which makes it the best tool to use. It did not take him long to adjust, though it was still slightly off from perfect. He placed the towel on his squad leader's forehead, helping her keep her fever down. This about as much as he could do for now. He brushed aside her bangs, studying her soft features. The last successor of the Ryugi clan, and judging from her family's history, he guessed she wasn't particularly well liked back in her house. He was tempted to touch her eye patch, thinking that for such a young girl to have a scar like this, some tragedy must have occurred. His device rang, surprising him. He pulled out his device and answered the call.

_'"Second lieutenant Ariule? Has Shiki's condition changed?"'_

Major Clang asked over the line.

"N-no. I've placed a towel to lower the fever, and that's about it."

_'"Alright, i'll be back with the doctor. We're going to start the systems on the ship, so make sure she is in a safe position."'_

"Yes ma'am."

_'"Oh, and second lieutenant Ariule."'_

"Yes?"

_'"Don't touch her eye patch."'_

Kryst swallowed hard. He was just about to touch it, letting curiosity get the better of him.

_'"... You touched it, didn't you?"'_

"N-no ma'am!"

Somehow Clan did not seem convinced over the line of his answer.

_'"... Well, okay. Just don't touch it. You don't want to die yet, do you? I'll be there in awhile."'_

The Major cut the line, letting Kryst have a slight breather. Don't touch the eye patch. Got it. Though Kryst did not know what exactly would happen if he did touch it, he was sure he did not want to try it anymore. Maybe her body would instinctively grab a knife and stab him with it. A low humming sound emitted through the ship as the systems came alive, and he felt the gravity increase till it was close to the planet below's gravity. With this, it was easier to treat her. The door slid open, and Major Clang came in with a medic.

"Second lieutenant Ariule, any changes?"

Clan asked him as he stood up and snapped to attention.

"No ma'am. No changes."

"Hm... alright. Good thing you didn't touch her eye patch. If you did, she would have automatically pulled out the knife in her boot and stabbed you with it. Happened to another guy who thought touching her eye patch while she slept was a good idea."

So she really would stab someone even if unconscious! Kryst was feeling slightly scared by the notion that it has only been one day yet he could see the patterns of his Squad leader's character. The medic checked on Shiki, removing her clothes to check. That was when Kryst noticed, though he really shouldn't have, that Shiki had bandages wrapped around her chest and abdomen. And one thing that really caught his eye, was that her left arm wasn't made from flesh. A sleek metallic grey arm replaced a flesh one.

"I should cut these..."

The medic stopped in mid sentence, turning to Kryst.

"While i may only be a medic and not really have a say in this, but don't you think you should leave the room?"

"Er... yes. I'll leave."

Kryst turned red as he left the room in a hurry. He sighed, leaning against the wall outside of the room as he waited. The door slid open once more and Clan stepped out.

"I'm not a medic. I may have medical knowledge, but my expertise lies in research and microbiology. Plus, that medic is used to treating Shiki, since he has experience with cyborgs."

The Major explained to Kryst, leaning against the wall opposite him. Now that Kryst thought about, the Major was short, even for a micronized Meltrandi. But he did not say anything. And by the looks of it, she seemed to be capable of piloting a Valkyrie. Most Zentradi do not bother with learning how to pilot a Valkyrie, even if they were to enter the military. However this was SMS, and he did not really know what a private military company's training would be like.

He felt slightly disturbed by the sight of the robotic arm, since Frontier was a colony that did not allow the use of cyber modifications and alterations to the body. Still, it was like he should not ask about it, and Clan's expression seemed to tell him that as well. So maybe he should ask something else to get his mind off that.

"Major, if i may ask, how is it that taichou be allowed to stay in a squad all by herself with no one else?"

Kryst wondered. Clan's eyes widened in surprise, but then she thought about it. It would have come up sooner or later.

"Shiki is skilled, no doubt about it. Her skills would place her amongst our top aces in SMS, but her character made her unable to work well with others. A long wolf, if you will. She wasn't always like that, however. Before the war, she worked together with two others. Those three made up Sword squadron. However the squad leader and Captain died, and the other member went missing during a mission. A fold disruption error or some sorts. Instead of folding out into the specified coordinates, he disappeared completely. No one knows where he went. Ever since then, Shiki has been like that. She became cold and unwilling to partner up with anyone in fear of losing someone again, blaming herself for all of the problems with the squad. She refused the captain rank because she wants to believe in her heart that there would only be one 'captain'. And that she would never be able to fulfill that large hole he left behind."

"Was this 'captain' her boyfriend?"

Kryst wondered. Clan smiled, closing her eyes as she recounted those days.

"Instead of boyfriend, they were engaged. Young lovers who wanted to live out their lives together. I'm sure you heard it from Alto, her family is a strict one. By marrying out, she could escape the chains of tradition from her family. Alto can sympathize because he was like that. However, unlike Alto, Shiki lost everything and was unable to recover. Dragged back into the confines of her family, she became the successor to the family, even though she was from the mistress, not the wife. That made her a hated child, scorned by many, and even her own father would not treat her like his daughter. The only people who treated her well were her half siblings, though as you know, they are all gone."

Clan stretched out, stifling a yawn as well. Kryst was wondering if the Major was actually spilling the beans on his squad leader even though she was the one who told Alto not to gossip. Kryst guessed it was a girl's nature. Kryst also noticed that the Major was holding onto what appeared to be a pair of broken glasses around her neck as she said all of those things.

"Well, as a result, we tried to give her some time to recover. However each time we try to place members into that squad, Shiki's cold attitude and her lone wolf style make it hard for people to work with her. So people transfer out. The war soon started and we were constantly pushed into action. With no attachment to others, Shiki poured everything she had into her job. She did not take breaks, constantly going out for scouting missions and such. When SMS deserted Frontier, she went along with them, since she more or less made the Quarter her home. I thought that if she concentrated hard enough on her job, she would forget her pains, but evidently i was wrong."

Clan pushed herself off from the wall, walking off in one direction.

"Second lieutenant Ariule, you may not like it, but Shiki needs you, whether she knows it herself or not. Help her no matter what. I hope that you, of all people, can do that."

* * *

A/N: I don't really know why i typed all of that shit. Anyway, the thing about self-suggestion comes from Kara no Kyoukai. I tweaked it a bit, but it is more or less the same thing. Also note, that the human mind is a VERY powerful thing. It can vastly affect the biological changes in the body, more so than you imagined.


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: I forgot what was Alto's mother's name.... but who cares. She didn't even speak in the anime. I tried to imagine the types of enemies that would still be around for Frontier to fight.... well, here they are. Lame, but hey, the show has to go on. Heck, i'll even throw in mysterious aliens, but that is just going off the insane reader.  


* * *

_Chapter 5_

_Weight of Sin_

She felt her eyelids being heavy as she tried to open her eyes. Her muscles ached badly, and her head felt like a rung bell. Her eye began to focus, adjusting to the dim lights of the room. She seemed to be lying down, staring up at some mattress. A bed? She suddenly sat up, her senses snapping straight into being alarmed. Though the moment she sat up, her entire body screamed at her, forcing her to wince as the pain burned her muscles. The pain slowly subsided and she opened her eye, observing her surrounding. That's right, she was now onboard the carrier ship, heading out for a mission. She must have collapsed from fatigue. She noticed a towel on her lap, and upon touching it, found it to be slightly warm and damp.

She felt her forehead, and deduced that the towel was her head to keep down a fever. She also noticed that she wasn't wearing anything, and only her SMS jacket over her shoulders was keeping her from being completely naked. Fresh bandages were also wrapped around her injuries, though most of her old injuries were healed and some left scars. She flexed her right arm, testing her is she could still move her fingers. So far all alright. She checked her left arm, but found that it wasn't there. She looked around for it, and finally found it sitting on the chair next to a sleeping figure. The young man was slumped in his chair, head hung low and arms crossed as he slept. His dark raven bangs covering his tired eyes. He must have watched over her the entire time.

She pushed a button on the console by her bed and saw that she had slept for six hours. Six whole hours of watching her, she must applaud him for having such persistence. The towel must be his as well. Swinging her legs off the bed, she forced herself to stand, though her legs were not so willing to cooperate at the moment. Finally getting her balance, she walked over the young man. She could not really remember his name, but she guessed she should thank him for watching over her. Grabbing her left arm, she slotted it into the empty socket at her shoulder's joint. She flexed the arm, taking a while to get use to it once more.

The arm felt better than before, must have gotten a tune up. She looked around the dim room for her bag, and found it sitting by the side. She wasted no time in opening her bag and grabbing clothes. A black singlet with khaki military pants. She also slipped back into her boots, feeling somewhat alive once more in more familiar attire. Once dressed in her training fatigues, she headed towards the door, but paused, eyeing the sleeping figure. Grabbing her SMS jacket, she gently placed it on him, sheltering him from the cold. It would be troublesome if he too caught a cold. Once done, she left the room.

Stepping outside the door, she stretched her arms, testing her left arm once more. The only way to feel alive was to head to the training room. The training room onboard the carrier used to be an extra cargo hold, but was cleared out and had a couple of weights and gym equipment placed within. It also held the shooting range and training mats. For this mission, only a limited number of personnel were chosen. Three squads, Skull, Pixie and Sword. Three engineers, one medic, and five crew. Due to the secrecy of the mission, they were advised not to use fold jumps unless it was an emergency. She had more or less grasped the situation of the mission even though she wasn't told the entire story.

A scouting party that went missing could onnly mean one thing. An enemy was there. She was briefed about the situation with the Galaxy colony. Even though they had defeated Battle Galaxy and the masterminds behind the war, the main colony of Galaxy had not been accounted for. There were an estimate of a million lives onboard that colony, which was still operating with possible military capabilities. And news from Macross City came back that whilst most of the colonies were safe when the Vajra, under the control of the Galaxy masterminds, pulled back with the influence of the songstresses of Frontier, and thus preventing any damage done to most colonies, there were reports of some colonies not being so fortunate.

Macross city had lost communications with two colonies who had changed their routes and started to head straight for Aimo. It is unknown for what purpose they are heading straight for Frontier's planet, but the Frontier government was advised by Earth to keep a vigilant eye out for anything. The chances of those two colonies becoming 'pirates' were high, considering the people who were in control of those two colonies. One was a former military commander demoted due to reckless behaviour, and the other was an influential mafia leader. Through connections and using lots of money, those two have become leaders of their own colonies. That was the last report Earth received from either colonies before they lost contact completely.

There was a third variable in these dangerous times. Another Vajra colony. According to tests and experiments, it had been shown that while this colony of Vajra is extremely large, spanning across half of the milky way all the way to Earth, there were signs of other colonies out there under control of individual Queens. Through Ranka Lee, it was learned that while Colonies do mingle for mating seasons, Vajra were also quite primal in their behaviour for territory. If a Vajra carelessly enters another colony's territory, it would be seen as an act of aggression and would be attacked upon. War between Vajra colonies was something Frontier did not need, but it was a fact and something they had to be prepared to deal with.

Due to the war, extensive damage to the Vajra colony on Aimo had reduced their defensive capabilities, resulting in possible invasions by other swarms. However, according to Ranka Lee, since the mating season just ended, most swarms would not try anything for at least five years. The swarm on Aimo were coloured distinctively red, and so it was easy to tell if an enemy swarm were to appear since different swarms were coloured differently. Enemies on three sides was a daunting task for the Frontier troops, and that was the dark truth that the Frontier government had chosen to hide from the people. Therefore it was up to NUNS and SMS to safeguard the planet Aimo and its people. Earth could send for reinforcements, but it would take months for them to reach this destination. Thus Frontier was on its own.

Ryugi Shiki walked into the training room, and noticed only a few people were there. One of them being Saotome Alto. She frowned at the thought that he had still managed to remember her weak points. For someone who comes from a Kabuki family, he sure has guts. Leaving him as he practiced his shooting, she walked over to a punching bag. Warming up her right arm, she grounded her feet into position and threw her fist at the bag. The impact caused a loud bang, sending the bag up into the air. Before the bag could reset, she swung her leg at it, kicking it once, twice, then throwing more punches at it.

She made sure the bag never had a chance to reset as she kept pounding away at the bag. Soon, most of the people in the gym stopped what they were doing and watched her take out her frustrations on the bag. She jumped, swinging her leg at it, before landing and twisting her body, sending one good round house kick into the bag, setting her feet firmly on the ground, and clenching her metallic arm. The bag seemed to slow down as she readied her fist. Then she let her fist fly. The explosion from the impact rocked the ship, and the bag exploded into dust. She shook her left arm, testing its joints after the impact. It still seemed to be in good condition.

"If you keep destroying punching bags, sooner or later you're going to use the ship itself as a punching bag."

Alto's cocky voice snapped her rather happy mood.

"Hmm, then how about you be my new punching bag? I'll be sure not to bust you up too badly that Sheryl would change her mind about you being the tough guy like in the tabloids."

She shot back, and some of the men in the gym gave some cheer to her insult. Alto was taken aback, since she knew that he couldn't do much once she brought up Sheryl Nome. The Galactic Fairy had the fly-boy around her fingertips, and that much was a fact. There was the rumour that Saotome Ranzo, Alto's father, had already accepted Sheryl as a daughter-in-law. Well, at least the gossiping maids back at the Ryugi main house had that much information.

"Besides, what can a Kabuki kid do against me?"

She smirked, pushing the final straw that made Alto rather furious.

"Shiki! That's going too far! You, who were just running away from your family!"

"I don't want to be told that by you!"

"You never even tried to fit into your family, cursing that you were born from a mistress!"

Shiki snapped upon hearing that, grabbing Alto by the collar even though she was shorter than him by a head.

"Don't you DARE insult my mother! My-... she was a woman who never backed down."

".... Then why do you try so hard to hide it? Why are you so embarrassed of your birth?"

Alto asked, staring straight into her eye. Shiki let go of Alto's collar, closing her eye as she stepped back from him.

"... I... you should know, Alto... Of all people, you should understand."

"...... Yeah, i'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that."

Alto sighed, placing a hand on her head to comfort her. Normally she would push him away, punch him in the gut and possibly do a German suplex on him, but for some reason she did not want to. Alto's hand felt almost like her mother's. She could only laugh inwardly at the thought that Alto was more feminine that he thought. But her mother was a kind and gentle woman. She didn't want to be embarrassed of her mother, she wanted to proudly say that she was born from such a noble and honest woman. But within the Ryugi family, she couldn't. She was merely a child of a mistress. Nothing more, nothing less. Such a traditional family was stoic and rigid in their views. She wasn't allowed to say or believe otherwise.

"All right! Nothing to see here! All of you get back to training!"

Alto shouted, and the crew went back to their own things.

"Come on, let's go grab something to drink. You just woke up and you went to do something reckless like destroying our only punching bag."

Alto walked with Shiki out of the training room, down the corridor to the messhall. Shiki took a seat at the table at the end of the hall as Alto went to get two mugs of coffee.

"Sugar, no milk, right?"

Alto asked as he set down one cup infront of Shiki.

"Yeah. You remembered, huh?"

She gratefully took the cup and sipped on the dark drink slowly.

"I've known you and your family since young. If i forget about anything now, i might get knocked out."

"Just how do you see my character?"

She raised an eyebrow, earning a laugh from Alto. She too, giggled at that thought.

"Maybe i've just put up too much of a wall around me."

She sighed, setting the mug down and stared straight into the hot drink. Her thoughts went back to that time, where she was abandoned, lost, and confused.

"You still haven't forgiven yourself. It's been so many years, Shiki. Isn't it about time you moved on?"

".... You're saying the same things as Clan."

"We're all worried."

Shiki closed her eye, the images of the past still flashing in her mind as vividly as the day it occurred. She could never forget that day. She could never move on. Even with help and support from others, she could not let the memories of him fade away. She had been trapped, forever frozen in the hell five years ago.

"... I'm sorry."

She finally muttered after the moment of silence. Alto sat back in his chair, sipping his mug.

"I see.... Well, i guess the new guy is going to have a tough time."

".... That is why he should transfer out."

Alto looked at Shiki with a rather surprised look after hearing her say that, before he burst out laughing. Shiki frowned at him, not very pleased at his reaction, or over-reaction for that matter. She did not understand what was so funny in the first place that would warrent such a strong laughter from him.

"Sorry, it was just... you're still the soft hearted person from before. You really haven't changed. Still being considerate of others."

"!!! It's not like that! If anyone is going to stick around me, i'll have a difficult time to do any work! That's all!"

"Yes, yes. I understand."

Alto couldn't help but laugh and continue to poke fun out of the red-faced Shiki, who was not enjoying this conversation at all. Alto and Shiki knew each other since young, since they both belonged to the oldest clans that still retained old traditions and culture from Japan on Earth. It has often been taught in her family's dojo that martial arts and proper use of the different weapons were like dancing, much like Kabuki. Shiki had learned the arts with that teaching in mind, though she initially wasn't expected to succeed, or be even anything to the Ryugi family. But due to the fact that she was the daughter of the family's head, she still had to undergo the training. It was because of this, that she was also allowed to socialize with the heads of the families during functions, and thus met Alto when they were young.

Shiki remembered that Alto was always close to his sickly mother. Saotome Miyo was a very kind and gentle woman, who greeted Shiki normally, and kept the then young Shiki company when none of the other kids wanted to play with her. Thus, Shiki and Alto were pretty close as kids, though they soon became more distant as time passed. Alto's training into Kabuki was more vigorous and harsh, also with his mother's failing health, he did not spend much time outside his house. As for Shiki, she spent her years undergoing grueling training, harsher and stricter than her half siblings. Any mistake would result in beatings, or going throughout the night without food.

She spent many nights in the cold storage shed in the garden, shivering and using what she had to protect herself from the cold. But her half siblings often came to see her, offer her words of encouragement. Sometimes they brought food and small things to help her. Those were the things that kept her going for so long, though her father or step mother would soon discover these things and she would be punished again, still she withstood it all as she knew no other life than that. Soon, Shiki came of age where she too had to join a military service. She noticed SMS, and aimed to join them since they would be the furthest from the hell that was her home.

Her family allowed it pretty easily, and she knew that they too wanted her to get out of the house. Joining SMS was easier than she thought, since Ozma Lee had taken a keen interest in her. Learning how to pilot a VF wasn't that easy as she had never taken up pilot courses before. Thus, her initial assignments in SMS was as a ground soldier. But Ozma, and the Captain of Sword squadron saw her potential, and did her a special service, sending her to school. She went to Mihoshi academy in the pilot course, her very first time going to school as before she was simply home-schooled.

That was when she met up with Alto once more. However the two had changed so much that they did not recognize each other until much later. Because of her job in SMS, and the fact that she wasn't amongst the top students in the pilot program, Shiki rarely participated in the events that Mihoshi academy has. Though Mikhail 'Michael' Blanc had often tried to trade spots in the events, or videos of those events with her for dates.

Of course, she rejected him every single time. Michael wasn't her type, and she had already started a relationship with her squad's captain. She had the ability to learn any thing quickly, and thus quickly became a pilot for SMS and assigned in Sword squadron. It was within this new squadron that she found a new life and was happy with it. But it all went wrong soon after. What happened that day Shiki would never forget, nor would she forgive the ones who caused it.

"Taichou!"

She turned around at the sudden shout from the entrance of the mess-hall, spotting a rather flustered and exhausted young pilot. Her squad member. Why did he enter this service? What were his reasons? He must already be hating her, be fearing her. He would soon want to transfer out as soon as the mission was done.

"Taichou, you mustn't run around when you're still not full recovered!"

He walked over to the table, rather looking rather worried.

"... I'm fine."

She replied flatly, turning back to Alto and taking another sip. She had noticed that Alto was seemingly enjoying this scene before him, as though he expected her to say something else to him. However she was not planning to say anything else.

"You're not fine. The medic said that you still needed sometime to rest your body-"

She slammed her left fist down on the table in his midsentence, causing the table to dent.

"If you did not notice, i am part machine. Don't treat me like a normal human being."

At that, he did not say anything, biting his lip. Cyborgs and such were normally frowned upon in Frontier, but it was the only thing she had left. It was also because of this that she was summarily disowned by the Ryugi family, stating it was a dsigrace for a member of the Ryugi clan to have modifications that defied nature. However that disownment order was recalled as there were no one left to take over the family name. Her older brother was already dead by the time she was disowned.

Since her older sister was bedridden, it was thought the successor's title would go to her young brother, the youngest of the family who also served in SMS. But he went missing shortly after. The family placed their hopes in that the eldest daughter would recover, but soon she slipped into a coma. During that time, Shiki was already staying with SMS as a full-time and live-in pilot. But then 'he' dared to appeared before her, and without a word, forced her back to main Ryugi house.

There, she saw what state the Ryugi clan had become. A house that once filled with pride, now reduced to a hollow shell of its former self, filled with sorrow and bitterness. No one was happy to see Shiki as she walked the halls of her old home. Still faces of disgust and spite. Her older sister in a coma, and her stepmother had lost her sanity, clinging onto Shiki in her delusions that Shiki was her dead son, Shiki's older brother. As such a state, the Ryugi successor title was conferred unto her.

She would have to leave SMS to be the successor, but then the war occurred. Using the chance, as well as SMS's emergency enlistment clause B, she ran straight back to SMS, and fought constantly till the end of the war. She had not gone back to the Ryugi house since that day. She could not stand any more of those stares of hatred aimed at her. Her left arm was a sin that was despised in Frontier. SMS was the only place she had left.

"Ugly thing, isn't it? Cold and unfeeling. So? Do you feel disgust? Fear? Or both?"

"Shiki-"

Alto wanted to say something, but kept quiet when Shiki shot a glare at him. Her new squad member looked upon her left arm, but it was not quite what she expected. He had eyes that seemed to be analyzing her arm, studying it like it was a fascinating object for him. But he also held a certain emotion that was quite distinct. Pity. He was piting her? She didn't need pity, nor did she like it. She survived through the harshness of her life, proved to others that her life was more than just useless. Suddenly felt something placed upon her shoulders. Looking up, she saw that he had placed her SMS jacket on her shoulders.

"You forgot this, taichou. Personally, i don't care about cyborgs or mechanics. But you are my squad leader, and i can't have you running about right after you collasped, cyborg or not. You have to take better care of yourself, both as a leader and as a person. You're not alone anymore."

Shiki stared at him, surprised by what he said. Somehow, it seemed as though her worries were all gone with his words alone. She had not expected that her pain would disappear from that, even if it was only momentarily.

"... You... what is your name?"

"So you did forget it already."

He sighed, shaking his head. Her face turned slightly red from that.

"Enough already! Just tell me!"

He looked at her, before smiling. Snapping to salute, he stood straight and reintroduced himself.

"Second Lieutenant Kryst Ariule. Joining Sword squadron under your command, taichou!"

Shiki's lips curved into a slight smile. Maybe it wasn't so bad after all, working with someone else. Perhaps Clan and Alto were right, perhaps it was time for her to leave it all behind. While she was afraid, she felt that something was going to change everything. She could no longer afford to simply sit idly by in her past. This young man would only be the beginning. Something told her that. She got up from her seat, facing him directly.

"It's a little late to introduce myself, but i am second lieutenant Shiki Ryugi. Squad leader of Sword squadron. To be in Sword squadron, you must be of certain standard, and if you aren't, i'll make sure to beat that standard into you until you exceed my expectations, or you quit like a whining bitch. Are you ready for this?"

"Yes ma'am!"

"Good! We'll head to the hangar. Go first and tell the engineers to prepare our Valkryies while i go get permission from Clan for an opponent."

"Hey, how about i take you on with Clan?"

Alto asked, getting up from his seat, having a rather dark and mischievous smirk plastered on his face. Shiki returned that smirk with her own, one that radiated a sinister and vile aura.

"Oh? The boy wants to play? Very well. We'll take you on."

* * *

A/N: I decided to reveal Shiki's past bit by bit, but it is somehow going very quickly. I initially wanted to reveal Kryst's past first, since we would be looking through his POV more often, but instead, Shiki is no longer the mystery person i wanted her to be!!! Now it is Kryst who is the mystery?! And also.... why did i place Shiki's past in the most horrid, and worst case scenario kind of way? Her life is like a pile of every single bad drama's background story into one massive blob. This is bad.


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: Just so in case you were wondering, the different VF-25s that were used are as follow

VF-25F -baseline model, Alto flies it though his colour was originally Henry Gilliam colours. They are now called 'Alto colours'

VF-25G -sniper model. Michel first flies it then Clan in her micron size.

VF-25S -commander model. Ozma flies this. It has extra stuff in it.

RVF-25 -scout type. Luca flies this. Can command drones.

The VF-25 model is exclusive to Frontier. It was created by LAI and commissioned them to SMS. So by the end of Macross F, only Frontier has them. The VF that Brera flies is a VF-27, called Lucifer. It is noted that only cyborgs can fly this since the amount of pressure created by its speeds and agility are immense. The NUNS for Frontier fly the basic VF-171 Nightmare Plus. They upgraded (though very lazily and rather sloppy) to VF-171 EX also called Nightmare Plus EX (how lame) to combat the Vajra. Don't know if it is suppose to be an overall better fighter than the Nightmare Plus though.

Shiki's first valkyrie was meant to be a baseline model, but i decided that the baseline model was kind of restrictive, so she ended up piloting a sniper variant before Kryst came along. She is a good sniper, but she never is the type to sit behind the front lines.

* * *

_Chapter 6_

_First Dance_

Kryst Ariule did not really expect things to turn out like this. He managed to get his squad leader to be slightly more open with him, though he guessed Captain Saotome and Major Clang had something to do with that too. But although it was suppose to be a good thing, with him now able to participate in a proper squad, though only two members was hardly called a squad, he now has to meet his leader's almost insane standards. Not only that, but he had not gotten a proper chance to test out the VF-25s, and now he was going to enter a mock battle with them? Not to mention they were to face off two veterans and war heroes? It was obvious that he was nervous. Nervous hardly said anything.

_'"Don't think too much, 2nd Lt. Ariule."'_

Ryugi Shiki's face appeared on screen. She had already gotten into her signature VF-25G. It was painted black with dark blue stripe running across it. The symbol of a sword with wings painted in blood red on the top. Her symbol of a siluette of a wolf with flames for the lower part of its body was painted in blood red colour on the side of her cockpit. As for him, he was using a VF-25F, but he was using the basic beige colour that was the stock colour for the variable fighter.

_'"This would probably be the last mission i'll be using this model."'_

Shiki sighed over the line, having a slight hint of regret in her tone. She sensed Kryst's slight confusion about why she said that.

_'"Oh, i guess you don't know. Since i'm now squad leader, i'll be getting the VF-25S, the commander variant. They had one all ready for me a long time ago, but since i never needed promotion, i kept declining the switch, besides, i'm rather fond of this bird. But this girl is reaching her limit. Oh yes, you'll also need to request it if you want special colours for your Valkyrie. Your bird should be ready once we're done with this mission."'_

His own colours. He didn't really know what colours to put on his Valkyrie, but if he had to say, maybe red would be his colour. A new screen appeared, showing what sort of opponents they would be facing. A VF-25S, piloted by Captain Saotome Alto. Kryst knew that Alto flew his signature coloured VF-25F during the war, but it was too damaged, and since he was promoted to Captain and squad leader, Kryst guessed it was due time to give the war hero an upgrade. The other was a VF-25G. Blue in colour, and it was used during the war.

_'"That VF-25G used to belong to our ace sniper, Michel. He died during the war and Clan... well, i don't think i need to explain what their relationship was like. If she's going to use that, however, i guess she is serious in this battle. She may not be as good as Michel in sniping, but her accuracy is still no laughing matter, coupled with the fact that she is mainly a forward attack, you can see how deadly her combination can be."'_

Kryst nodded in agreement. Things were already looking rather difficulty, but to add this news? Maybe someone had a grudge against him.

_'"Well, don't worry. If you can get hit within the first five minutes, you can still make it back to ship in one piece. After that, no guarentees."'_

What Shiki just said did not impress him one bit. He knew he wasn't exactly at any respectable level of skill when compared to the aces like Clan Clang, or Saotome Alto, or his own squad leader Ryugi Shiki. His Valkyrie was loaded on the elevator, which was raised up onto the deck of the carrier. The holographic system lined up a runway infront of him, and the artificial gravity would help accelerate his take off in a gradual form. On the next runway, Shiki's valkyrie was locked in place.

_'"Systems all green. You're clear to launch, Sword 2. Good luck."'_

The flight officer on the bridge announced. Sword 2, his designation. Had a funny sound to it.

"Thanks. Sword 2, launching!"

He pushed the thrusters, and he soon took off.

_'"Sword 1. Get ready. Go!"'_

He heard Shiki say as she took off as well. But at the moment, most of his mind was preoccupied by the extreme sensitive controls of the variable fighter. The speed and accelerations were incredible compared to the old Nightmare Plus and EX models. The turns were sharp, the brakes were very efficient in stopping the plane completely. It was incredible, but extremely hard for him to get used to immediately.

_'"Calm down, adjust the amount of pressure you apply to the controls."'_

Shiki instructed him with a stern voice that made his body comply almost readily. Humans are more prone to react upon harsher tones and would follow orders if it was strict, firm, and confident.

_'"You know the skill of 'self-suggestion', right? Use it."'_

Kryst was surprised by how his leader knew of that term, but he did as she told him, and calmed himself down. He slowly twitched each control slightly, testing out their sensitivity and how each control would react. He soon managed to get a feel for the machine as though it was his very own body, as the skill of 'self-suggestion' would do. He got about half of the controls down, and it was enough to adjust himself and line up behind Shiki as they flew into the combat zone.

"How did you know about-"

_'"Self suggestion is a technique taught to martial artists in my family. It is used to dispel fear when facing opponents who look stronger, or to increase the belief in oneself. In battle, there is nothing worse than a warrior not having faith in his own abilities. But in my family, there is an additional portion to it. Through self suggestion, we essentially 'create' an alter ego that can be used to confront an opponent as a skilled warrior, almost like a seperate personality solely used for fighting. Or we can change our very own mindset to become stronger."'_

"I don't really understand."

_'"Just take this scenario. If a normal person with no real special skill were to confront an enemy of certain ability, he would surely be at a disadvantage. However if you change his 'normal' status into that of a 'warrior', you can bring out hidden abilities within him, though most of the time without proper training the body would be pushed beyond its limits and cause problems."'_

"I see..."

_'"Alright, enough chatting. We're entering the engagement zone. Be on your toes."'_

* * *

Kryst took his helmet off, sighing as he took a look at his valkyrie covered with green paint. He couldn't believe it, even though it was his first time piloting the VF-25, he would have expected himself to last longer. His pride from being a former NUNS member was crushed within seven minutes flat of the match, hit by squarely on the wing by Major Clang, before getting his main body hit mulitple times by Captain Saotome. Aces indeed, their skills were no laughing matter, and it seemed that even after the war they weren't slacking in their training. He spotted his squad leader get out of her valkyrie, and walked over to her.

Shiki pulled her helmet off, letting her long hair run down. Shiki looked slightly unhappy, but she did not seem too angry. Her valkyrie was hit on the left leg thrusters after fifteen minutes into the match. After another twenty minutes, she took out Major Clang, but was hit shortly after by Alto. Thirty-five minutes was how long Shiki was able to hold out one her own against two aces. Considering that she had not been on any missions, or faced against any opponents other than drones with fixed programming, she did extremely well. Still, Kryst could tell that Shiki wasn't happy with it.

"I could have dodged that."

She muttered, walking over to the changing room. The changing room was shared between men and women, but the two sections were split off by two rows of lockers although that really wasn't much. Alto and Clan were already changing back into their uniforms.

"For someone who had been grounded for so long, you didn't do so bad."

Clan laughed.

"Shut it, Clan. I could have lasted a little longer."

Shiki shot back, taking off her flight suit.

"It wouldn't matter anyway. You would just be delaying the inevitable."

Alto shouted from the men's side.

"What?! I dare you to say that in my face, pretty hime!"

"I'll say it all i want, tomboy barbarian!"

"Who are you calling a tomboy barbarian?!"

"Who else could i be referring to?!"

The verbal abuses that flew across the locker rooms were intense and loud, and Kryst slowly made his way out of the locker room, hoping to slink away without notice. However, he noticed that he wasn't the only one that was getting out. Clan had also changed and had thought the same thing as he did, getting out of the room. When they got out, the two simply stood outside the locker room and listened on as the abuses got more violent and louder with each passing second. However Kryst had managed to catch onto the fact that their insults were rather playful in nature.

"Don't worry about that. They're always like that."

Clan said, resting her hands behind her head.

"Erm... do they usually go at it so loudly?"

"Not really. Normally Shiki would end the arguments with the destruction of a couple of walls. She must be starting to open up again."

Kryst had to wonder about the part of destroying walls. Was his squad leader really that violent?

"But... it is certainly a good thing to see. Thank you, for helping her."

Clan bowed to Kryst, making him slightly flustered, not to mention surprised.

"I-i didn't do anything, Major."

"No, you did do something. You may not notice it, but whatever you did, you made her feel better about herself."

".... Major-"

"Call me Clan. My friends all call me that. You are now one of them."

Kryst nodded, feeling slightly awkward and humbled that he had been accepted by this veteran. But what did he really do? He did nothing, like before, he could do nothing. But that was why he came here. He needed to find out something, and there was a single thing he needed to do no matter what. Shiki and Alto came out of the changing room, both still shooting verbal insults to one another. Shiki still had her left sleeve unrolled, covering her metallic arm, and gloves on both hands. She really did not look like someone who would have suffered such a dark past just by seeing her now. Shiki turned to Kryst, who was obviously slightly down after talking with Clan. She narrowed her eye at the slightly depressed new pilot, not sure what he was thinking.

"2nd Lt. Ariule."

He looked up at the call of his name. Shiki crossed her arms, tapping her foot on the floor.

"Yes?"

"If you have time to feel down about such a loss, then go practice some more. Your reflexes are still slightly stiff, and you react slower to things coming into your right field of vision."

He smiled a little, seeing as how his squad leader was really quite predictable in what she wanted to say. Shiki walked up to him, tapping his chest with her fist.

"I don't know what you're thinking, and personally, i don't care. But you are my wingman, you need to be able to cover my back, not go down in the first five minutes of battle. You need to protect me, like how i will protect you. You place your life in my judgement, just like how i place my life in your hands. Forget all useless thoughts, if you want to worry, worry while you sleep. Frustrated, take your anger on the enemy. Once on the field, you are a soldier. Don't you have at least the determination to see to it that you act like one?"

Determination. He had that. Determination to see the ghosts of his past avenged.

"... Taichou, i place my life in your hands as well."

Shiki smiled at his response.

"Of course."

* * *

A/N: I couldn't make Shiki stronger than the main cast, but she has been described as an ace, so her skills are on par with Clan and Alto. However, she tends to be rather impatient so fighting long battles is bad for her. Her condition also makes it hard for her to continue fighting for long periods of time. If she were in during the series, she would be one of those SMS fighters merely protecting Quarter as a guard, not flying out to engage the enemy.

The last anime character that i used to create Shiki is hinted in this chapter.


End file.
